Theera

Aditi and Saamiya are the only one of my friends who know about my tumor, and I like it that way.

During study hall, I'm listening to music and talking to Bhoomi as Aditi does some homework she has. That's when Anand walks up to me.

"Theeru." He says.

"Nandu, what's up?" I ask. I call him Nandu. Actually, my and his entire family does.

"I'm dropping you off today, okay?"

"What? No, Sakith is gonna pick me up." I told him.

"No, Sakith just texted. He's running late. He can't come."

I sigh. Sakith had to go to Princeton to pick up some work and hand in a few assignments.

"Okay, fine." I say, deciding to drop it as my head starts hurting again.

"Are you okay?" He asks, kneeling in front of me.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I say, trying not to scream in pain. I've been getting pain attacks, but those were nothing compared to this. I take deep breaths, trying to calm myself.

"Theera." Nandu says in a warning tone.

"I'm fine, Nandu." I assure him as the pain slowly starts subsiding.

"Okay. Call me if you need anything."

I nod, and he goes back to sit with his class. I put in both my earbuds as Aditi shoots me a worried glance. I give her a reassuring nod to say I'm okay before closing my eyes and leaning my head back, trying to relax.

Neil and Shiv are sitting right behind us. I feel a tap on my shoulder, and immediately turn around, spooked.

"Hey, are you okay?" Neil asks.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, my head hurts, that's it." I reply with a slight smile. OMG he cares about me!

He nods. "Oh, okay." He smiles too. We've gotten pretty close, as friends, over the last few weeks. He even told me his Christian name, Joseph. But I knew that already, not that I told him though. Even though we're friends, I still love him.

I turn back around as I feel another head splitting pain, and immediately grab Aditi's hand.

"Hey, are you okay?" She exclaims, worried and surprised.

I can't talk. It hurts too much.

I pull out my phone in an attempt to call Nandu. I call him, but my phone slips and falls out of my hand as pain shoots through my skull. I try to refrain from screaming out in pain. Nandu is at my side in an instant. I clutch his hand, squeezing it hard, but he barely hisses in pain. I feel tears streaming down my face. People are talking, but I can't hear anything but the pulsing pain in my skull.

I don't know how long that went on, but I soon passed out from the pain.

Neil

Everything is fine until Theera grabs Aditi's arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" Aditi asks, worried.

That gets me worried. Theera pulls out her phone and does something without talking. Pain is etched on her face.

Her phone drops to the ground. A few moments later, the Nandu guy from a few minutes ago comes back again.

"Theera." He says, trying to help her as she clutches his hand.

Mr. Cillens rushes over.

"Theera, Theera, can you hear me?" Nandu asks.

Everyone was staring at her now.

"Theera?" I try, scared.

What's going on? Tears rolled down her face, and I'm so close to crying too.

She suddenly lets out a scream of pain, writhing in the seat, and I feel like someone stabbed me right through the heart.

Mr. Cillens is on his phone as Ms. Valerie, our principal, and Mr. Reynolds, the 11th grade vice principal, run into the auditorium. It's chaos. Everyone was trying to come over to see what was happening, and it was loud, which I doubt helped Theera at all.

"Hey!" I shout. "Move away from her! Give her room to breathe!" I'm usually quiet, but I can be loud when I want to, and right now, I'm pissed at how everyone is acting.

I hear ambulances, and paramedics run into the auditorium, led by Mr. Cillens.

They run over to Theera, pushing everyone around her away. They put her on the stretcher, and take her pulse.

Nandu is by their side, talking to them. I can't hear a word he's saying. They strap her to the gurney.

My mom is a doctor, and I know that Theera would most probably be taken to JFK Med center, which is the closest hospital to the school. I immediately called mom.

"Hey, Neil, what's up?" Mom asks, worried. "Is everything okay?" I never call her during school hours.

"Mom, my-" I have no clue what to call her. "My classmate is coming into the hospital, are you there?" I ask.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, she had a seizure or something. The medics are here."

"I'm on my break-"

"Mom, she needs help!"

"Okay, okay. I'll take care of it. I'm heading back right now."

"Thank you." I let out a sigh of relief as I end the call and watch as Theera is taken out by the medics, knowing she will be in good hands.

Ms. Valentine's voice comes over the PA system, and a medical lockdown is called, meaning no one is supposed to leave their classrooms and all shutters have to be closed until further notice

We all sit in silence until the end of the period. Aditi is worried sick. She picks up Theera's phone and stuff and leaves before the bell rings.

****

The moment I get home, I ask mom what happened, but she won't tell me anything about Theera. She said something about doctor-patient confidentiality or whatever, and I'm pissed. I just hope Theera is okay.

****

Theera

I open my eyes to the bright lights of the hospital. Mom, Dad, Sakith, Nandu, Saami, and Aditi are in the room, watching me.

"Hey." I said.

They are all at my side in an instant. Mom hugs me tightly and kisses my forehead as Dad and Sakith hold my hand.

"You scared us." Mom says, and for the first time since I was diagnosed, I let myself cry in front of my parents. It wasn't the pain in my head or my entire body, it was more the pain of making the people I love cry.

I promise to myself to never do that again. Then again, that is not something in my hands.

Well that was pretty action and emotion packed. What did ya think? Let me know in the comments!